Stabilizing device



mit. 2%, i939. R M 5. HUGHES ZQWL STABILIZING DEVICE Filed sept. 6, 1935 2 sheetssheet 1 .mataba 216 'Isin-res l gratter enterar eterea STABILRZIN G 'DEVICE i `Robertv H. S. Hughes, Baltimore, Md., assigllm f one-half to Milton Roberts,.altimore, Md.

i f"pplicationseptember 6,l 1335, Serial No. 39,492

' imams. (ci ssa-.itx

Thisdnventionrelatetoa device for minimizing recoil Yin i'e'jarinsjwhih are adapted to fire projectiles. Theinvention comprises "a body havingmeans afor'its`ati .achnrientto the muzzle of a barrelf"sai'd' b'o4 i`y5l having `a gas chamber `therein 'and having aninlet port and a sealport at the rear and forward sides of said chamber, respectively, v and a shoulder extending laterally from the inner end of the seal port, the inner side wall of the l l'1an il i er iaring outwardly and forwardly'frorn the inlet'port toward said shoulder, and discharge ports extending rearwardly and outwardly from theshoulder.' When the deviceis mounted on the gun barrel the inlet port and th'es'eal' port are in line with the bore of the'barrel.' The chamber is relatively small and as the bullet 4leavesA the gun barrel and passes into'the seal port, the gases and still burn ing productslof combustion rfrom the barrel enter the chamber and create an exceedingly high pres sure therein, 'particularly'at' the` momentA when the seal port is practically closed by the bullet. These gases' are confined and directed against the shoulder at the forward end of the chamber by the forwardly and outwardly flaring side wall of the chamber and as the discharge ports lead rearwardly and outwardlyfrom the shoulder, the forceof the reaction from the discharge of the gases against'the atmosphere is applied to the l shoulder thus greatly reducing the recoil.

In` the 'accompanying drawings; which illustrate 'the' invention:

Fig.' 1 is a side elevation oi my recoil ccnv trolling device applied 'to'fa rifle barrel; Fig. 2 yis a longitudinal 'section on the line z zofmg. l; y v

'Fig'. 3 is a transverse'section through therecoil deviceonthe 'line 3`3 of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the ref coll device mounted upon the end of a rifle barrel, the latter, with lthe sight'thereon, being shown in side view, and abu'llet being-shown in the seal port ofthe device';

Fig.` 5 is a graph showing the percentage of recoil eliminatedl in a regulation United States Army rifle shooting a standard'cartridge for various total port areas given in square inches with ja port angle of 30 to the longitudinal axis of the bore;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation ofa'modirled form of recoil device applied to a rifle -barrel and serving as a supporting means for a bayonet, the latter shown in side view partly broken away;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal central section through the recoil device shown in Fig. 6, and,

the forward wall of the chamber. lofltl'ie chamber closes the-'forward part of the lateral escape of gases to the atmosphere.

"At the end of the support '2 is sh'own a bayonet v attaching member 3 provided with a pivoted link d through which the rest strap ofthe rifieinot shown) is adapted to pass. On the muzzle of the barrel l is mounted'the front sight 5. The barrel is externally screwthreaded as shown at S and the bore of the barrel is rifled in the usual manner "as indicated at 1.

' The attachment for minimizing recoil coinfpris'es a cone-shaped metalbody 8 formed with a cavity or gas chamber` Q 'therein and having a rearwardly extending sleeve `or lcollar it with internal threads ill' adapted to engage the threads on the barrel. When the device is fitted onto a gun barrel, an annular shoulder Sie at the inner end of the sleeve abuts against the end of the barrel, and the device is held against turns ing by a set screw l5. The inner boundary of this shoulder is concentric with the bore of the barrel and forms an inlet port 63h to the chamber in the device. FromI the inlet port, the side wall i3 'of the chamber ilares forwardly and outwardly toward the periphery of an annular shoulder ill.

vin the forward part of the device is a. seal port the bore of the gun barrel and the shoulder Ml extends laterally from the inner end of the seal -por't to the side wall of the chamber and'forms The side Wall chamber adjacent the shoulder ill against the The device has a rearwardly facing external shoulder 8B at the rear of the shoulder id in the chamber,

'and a plurality of straight discharge ports l2,

arranged in a circular series, extend rearwardly and outwardly throughl the body from the'for- .ward part of the chamber adjacent the shoulder therein through said external shoulder, the

axes of said discharge ports .intersecting the shoulder in the forward part of the chamber, and the peripheries of said. discharge ports, at their outer sides, being in line withthe periphery of thev internal shoulder it.

In the operation of the device, when the gun is `fired, the bullet passes through theinlet port and the chamber and thence through the seal port and the blast from the gun barrel, consisting of burned and still burning gases and products of combustion, is confined and directed forwardly against the shoulder ill by the flaring side wall i3 of the chamber. As the chamber or cavity is of relatively small size, the pressure created within the chamber is exceedingly high, especially during the moment when the seal port is substantially blocked by the bullet Ii, as shown in Fig. 4. and hence the discharge of the gases through the discharge ports against the atmosphere is instantaneous and violent and the reaction force resulting from these discharges is applied directly to the forward shoulder Il in the control device, thus greatly minimizing the recoil.

For each type of gun or piece of ordnance, the correct size of the chamber, size of gas shoulder and distance of the shoulder from the muzzle of the gun must be determined to gain the greatest efficiency. In general it is desirable to have the gas chamber relatively small since the smaller the chamber the greater the velocity of the gases leaving the discharge ports I 2. It is also desirable to have the total area of the gas shoulder Il, as nearly as practicable, equal to the cross-sectional area of the rearwardly directed discharge ports.

With the type of recoil device shown in Figs. 1-4, as applied to a standard United States Army l rifle, in which the rearwardly directed discharge ports were directed at an angle of approximately 30 to the longitudinal axis of the bore of the gun, I have found that the total area of the ports was a very important factor in eliminating recoil. The principles thus established apply also to other firearms.

Turning to the graph, which is based on the performance of a regulation United States Army rifle using a regulation cartridge, it will be seen that with a total area of .22 inch, 51% of thel recoil is eliminated; with a total port area of .3, 61% is eliminated; with an area of .8' inch, 89% is eliminated. At this point the curve seems to flatten out and with the total port area of .'17 inch, '12% of the recoil was eliminated, while with e. total area of 1.2 inches, 74% was eliminated. From the curve constructed on the data obtained. it was obvious that the port area was a critical factor in determining the emciency of the device. and that approaching a certain maximum port area, the curve of percentage of recoil elimination attens out.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings, I have shown :a tubular extension 20 on the forward end of the conical body t through which the seal port 2l extends. This extension may be used, as shown in Fig. 6, to forn a support for a bayonet 2l, by passing the extension through a ring 2| on the guard 22 of the bayonet. The bayonet handle 24 is attached to the member I on the gun barrel by locking means indicated at 25, but not shown in deta A What I claim is:

1. A recoil controlling device for guns adapted to re projectiles comprising a body adapted for attachment to the muzzle end of a gun barrel, said body having a gas chamber therein and having an inlet port and a seal port at the rear and forward ends of said chamber, respectively, and a shoulder extending laterally from the inner end of the seal port to the side wall of the chamwardly facing external shoulder at the rear of the shoulder in the chamber, and having a pluraiity of discharge ports extending rearwardly and outwardly from the forward part of the chamber adjacent the shoulder therein through said external shoulder, the axes of said ports ini tersecting the shoulder in the forward part of the chamber.

2. A recoil controlling device for guns adapted to i'lre projectiles comprising a body adapted for attachment to the muzzle end of a gun barrel, l said body having a gas chamber therein and having an inlet port and a seal port at the rear and forward ends of said chamber. respectively. and a shoulder extending laterally from the inner end of the seal port to the side wall of the chaxnl ber, the side wall closing the forward part of the chamber adjacent said shoulder against lateral escape of gas, the side wall flaring outwardly and forwardly from the inlet port toward the periphery of said shoulder, said device having a reax'-4 2 wardly facing external shoulder at the rear of the shoulder in the chamber, and having a circular series of straight discharge ports-extending rearwardly and outwardly from the forward part of the chamber adjacent the shoulder therein 2 through said external shoulder, the axes of said ports intersecting the shoulder in the forward part of the chamber.

3. A recoil controlling device for guns adapted to fire projectiles comprising a body adapted for 3 attachment to the muzzle end of a gun barrel, said body having a gas chamber therein and having an inlet port and a seal port at the rear and forward ends of said chamber. respectively, and a shoulder extending laterally from the inner end 3 of the seal port to the side wall of the chamber, the sidev wall closing the forward part of theA chamber adjacent said shoulder against lateral escape of gas, the side wall fiaringoutwardly and forwardly from the inlet port toward the periphs' ery of said shoulder. said device having a rearwardly facing external shoulder at the rear yof the shoulder in the chamber, and having a plurality of discharge ports extending rearwardly and outwardly from the forward part of the chamber ad- 4 jacent the shoulder therein through said external shoulder, the axes of said ports intersecting the shoulder in the forward part of the chamber, and the peripheries of the discharge ports, at their outer sides being in line with the periphery of the 5l latter shoulder.

- 4. A recoil controlling device for guns adapted to iire projectiles comprising a conical body adapted for. attachment to the munie end of a gun barrel and having a cylindrical extension at 5 its forward end. said body having a gas chamber therein and having an inlet port and a seal port at the rear and forward ends of said chamber, respectively, the seal port extending through said cylindrical extension, and said body having a d shoulder extending laterally from the inner end of the seal port to the side wall of the chamber, the side wall closing the forward part of the chamber adjacent said shoulder against lateral escape of gas, said device having a rearwardly facing ai external shoulder at the rear of the shoulder in the chamber and having a plurality of discharge ports extending rearwardly and outwardly from the forward part of the chamber adjacent the shoulder therein through said external shoulder. the axes Il of said ports intersecting the shoulder in the forward part of the chamber.

ROBERT H. S. HUGHES. 

